Mud removing system by means of an excavator and an apparatus therefor

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for excavation characterized by a rotary excavator, a line feeding mud slurry to the zone of excavation, a line removing soil entrained in mud slurry from the excavation zone, means for raising and lowering the rotary excavator, reels for properly coiling the slurry feeding and removing lines, guides for preventing kinking of the lines, separating the soil in a separation means and recirculating the separated mud slurry via the mud feeding line to the excavation zone.

United States Patent [191 Takagi et al.

[ Nov. 19, 1974 MUD REMOVING SYSTEM BY MEANS OF AN EXCAVATOR AND AN APPARATUS THEREFOR [75] Inventors: Atsushi Takagi, Yokohama; Mitsuo Miura, Tokyo; Akio Suzuki, Kashiwa; Yoshinori Kukino, Yokohama; Kiyoshi Amagai; Haruji Shimizu, both of Tokyo; Mitsutoshi Satoh, Kashiwa; Shoji Kohno, Chiba; Mitsuo Ebine, Sakura, all of Japan [73] Assignee: Takenaka Komuten Company, Ltd.,

Osaka-fu, Japan [22] Filed: Dec. 12, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 314,325

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 31, 1971 Japan 46-1961 Mar. 18, 1972 Japan .4 47-32579 [52] [1.8. CI 175/206, l37/355.19, 175/103 [51] Int. Cl E2lb 21/00 [58] Field of Search 175/206, 103, 66;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,999,261 4/1935 Shultz et al. 175/206 X 2,548,616 4/1951 Priestman et al. 175/206 X 3,509,945 5/1970 Kukihara 175/206 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS 740,289 11/1955 Great Britain l75/206 Primary Examiner-H. Hampton Hunter Attorney, Agent, or FirmFidelman, Wolffe, Leitner & Hiney [5 7] ABSTRACT A method and apparatus for excavation characterized by a rotary excavator, a line feeding mud slurry to the zone of excavation, a line removing soil entrained in mud slurry from the excavation 'zone, means for raising and lowering the rotary excavator, reels for properly coiling the slurry feeding and removing lines, guides for preventing kinking of the lines, separating the soil in a separation means and recirculating the separated mud slurry via the mud feeding line to the excavation zone.

8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEL w 1 91914, 3.848 68 5 SHEEI 10F 6 PATENIEL'nnv 1 91914 SHEEI 20? a 3.848.685

sum 3 or s PATENT [1, rnv 1 91974 PATENTEL HUV 1 91914 SHEET E OF 6 @m Q g MUD REMOVING SYSTEM BY MEANS OF AN EXCAVATOR AND AN APPARATUS THEREFOR This invention relates to an excavation system employing a muddy water slurry to entrain the spoil, and hoses and reels and associated equipment employed therewith.

Heretofore in the operation of a slurry recovery method, wherein the slurry was circulated in the excavation zone by means of pumps, the hoses employed for conveying the slurry were coiled on the ground.

Underground excavators of various types have been remarkably improved in their functioning and have come to be used for deeper excavation. For this reason, in order to supply muddy water slurry to the excavator and to lift the excavated soil and the like to the ground surface, longer hoses have had to be used.

Coiled hoses laid on the ground occupy a considerable portion of the working area and get in the way of other work. In addition, since the sand and soil are mixed with the muddy water slurry within the hose and are circulated under high pressure, the mixture is very heavy and the hose has a high rigidity so that several operators have to be in attendance all the time to take care of said operation.

Since these hoses are full of circulating fluids, bending in excess of a given amount has a harmful effect on the motion of the fluid, or causes the severely bent hoses to break.

A primary object of the invention is to eliminate the labor required and to more effectively utilize working space by reducing the number of operators heretofore required to move around or handle the hoses coiled on the ground, and to provide for continuous spoil removing operation below grade without stoppage of excavation work.

A further object of the invention is to keep the working area in order, to enable work to be more versatile and to provide a work space as large as possible by spirally reeling hoses and the like on a hose reel.

Another object of the invention is to enable the hose reel to be easily movable to any suitable place on the ground by setting it on a suitable truck, said truck also serves to support the excavator and the like and to be a scaffold on which the excavator is mounted for excavation work.

A further object of the invention is to provide two hose reels on which a mud slurry return hose and a spoil removing hose are separately reeled, which have aligned rotary shafts whereby the area occupied by said hose reels is as small as possible and wherein the reels are aligned horizontally or vertically and wherein each hose may be reeled in or reeled out by means of individually provided motors.

Another object of the invention is to guide the hose to be reeled on each reel by means of a traverse guiding device which servesto properly coil the hose on the reel.

Still another object of the invention is to provide the drum of the hose reel mounted on a vertical shaft with spiral flights so that a long hose may be suitably coiled on the drum.

Yet another object of the invention is to have one end of hose on the reel being connected to a swivel pipe joint mounted on the upper end of the vertical shaft, with air venting by means of a vacuum pump being provided in the vicinity of said swivel pipe joint.

Still a further object is to provide a framework or a scaffold so that the hose and the like are guided smoothly to the excavator located in the excavation zone by means of a sector guide to prevent an excessive bending and kinking.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the system of the present invention in operation using a rotary cutter type excavator;

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the hose reels and associated structure;

FIG. 3 is a plan view taken along lines A-A of FIG. 2 showing the framework and the scaffold simplified;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 2 slightly modified;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the spoil removing system wherein the slurry containing spoil is removed by means of a pump; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing an embodiment in operation using an excavator with a force pump utilized in a mechanism for removing mud excavated.

A spoil removing system or a soil discharging method according to the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1-4, which show an excavation operation using a rotary-cutter type excavator and the framework and scaffold developed by the pres ent invention.

In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 1 denotes generally a support structure having mounted at its bottom portion rotary cutter type excavator 2 which may be moved vertically to reach the bottom of a trench 3. This support structure is fastenedto the framework and scaffold shown in'FIGS. 2 and 4 and is guided forvertical motion into the trench. Reference numeral 4 denotes a truck which carries hose reel structure 5 and traverse guiding means 6 thereon; 7 is a truck which carries two units of pumps 8 and 9 thereon; 10 is a truck which carries mud and treating means thereon, and 12 is a carrier car for the removal of spoil 13. The trucks 4, 7 and 10 are moved on a rail 14 provided on the ground (FIG. 4).

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, hose reel structure 5 comprises a combination of ahose reel 15 located at the upper position and a hose reel 16 located at the lower position. A mud removing hose 17 is coiled on the lower hose reel 16, and a slurry supplying hose 18 is coiled on the upper hose reel 15. The arrowheads on hoses l7, l8 and 22 show the direction of fluidflow therein. Reels 15 and 16 are fixedly mounted on shafts 20a and 19a respectively for rotation thereon.

The upper portion of shafts provide for a passage of fluid therethrough. Fastened to the upper position of said shafts are swivel pipe joints l9 and 20 respectively. A vacuum pump 21 for an air vent is mounted at a-position in the vicinity of the swivel elbow 19. Swivel joints 19 and 20 are connected through hoses 22 and 23, respectively, with pumps 8 and 9 mounted on truck 7.

Traverse guiding means 6 moves upwards and downwards in synchronization with the rotation of the hose reel structure 5. Hoses 17 and 18 are slidably moved lengthwise while being supported by the traverse guiding means 6. Accordingly, each hose is thus guided so as to be spirally reeled or unreeled on its corresponding reel. In order to attain an orderly reeling of hoses l7 and 18 in cooperation with the traverse guiding means 6, the drums of reels and 16 are preferably provided with spiral flights 44 having a pitch corresponding to the diameter of the hoses (FIG. 4). Said flights guide the hose into proper position on the reel.

As shown in FIG. 1, mud or slurry treating means 11 is provided with a vibration screen 24, by which slurry containing spoil 13 (mud excavates) transported through the hose 17, pump 9, and hose 22 is screened by a sieve 24 to separate the spoil 13.

The matter thus separated is discharged onto the carrier car 12 to be transported to a suitable place for disposal. The muddy water slurry with the spoil matter separated therefrom is returned as regenerated slurry to the excavated trench 3 from the slurry tank 24a through the pump 8, hoses 23 and 18.

As shown more particularly in FIG. 2, the numeral 25 denotes a main stage for the scaffold, 26 is a vertical mast for the scaffold and 27 is a stay for supporting said mast and vertically supports the mast 26 forming a right-angled triangle with respect to the horizontal stage. Support frame 31 has mounted thereon bearings (not shown) in which shafts 19a and a are mounted. The lower hose reel 16 is utilized to reel up the spoil removing hose 17 through which the material excavated by means of the rotary cutter type excavator 2 located in the excavated trench 3 is lifted to the ground level. The upper hose reel 15 is utilized to coil on its drum discharge hose 18. Said hose conveys the regenerated slurry after the spoil is separated therefrom, into the excavated trench 3. Additionally mounted on the frame of the scaffold are a control board 32 and a winch 33.

The numeral 34 denotes a frame of the traverse guiding means 6. Said guiding means moves in synchronization with the rotation of reels 15 and 16 while 17 and 18 are reeled and unreeled. Each of hoses 17 and 18 is coiled on the reels l5 and 16, respectively, in an orderly manner, and uncoiled therefrom to move them smoothly in deep trench 3. Elements 35 and 36 are pulleys having wire mounted thereon which are a part of the synchronizing mechanism mounted on the rotary shafts of said reels l5 and 16 along with swivel pipe joints l9 and 20. The synchronization of the reeling operation will be explained more fully below.

As shown in FIG. 2, the support post 37 for the excavator 2 is forced down by a hydraulic jack to position excavator 2 for its operation. Post 37 is guided by means of a guide roller means 38 mounted at the top of the mast 26, and a guide roller means 39 mounted near the lower part of the mast 36. The hydraulic jack 40 is removably fastened to support post 37 by a clamping means 41.

Numeral 42 (FIGS. 2 and 4) is a hose guiding device fastened to the clamping device 41. Element 42 is slidably mounted on a channel 43 fastened to mast 26 (FIG. 2) and moves downward as the support post 37 is forced down by the hydraulic jack 40. Guiding device 42 has roller mounted therein over which the hoses 17 and 18 can readily slide. Thus, when hoses 17 and 18 move down into trench 3 along with support, post 37, guiding device 42 prevents kinking of the hose and thereby avoids hose damage.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, total length of each hose l7 and 18 is 40 meters, by way of an example. Thus, constant introduction of muddy water slurry carrying spoil into a hose 40 meters in length and a considerable diameter would be inefficient and costly if the hose manipulation had to be performed by humanlabor. According to the present system, however, a sufficient length of hose to excavate the trench 30 meters in depth is provided without joints. The hose can be reeled and unreeled smoothly from the reels l5 and 16 in cooperation with the traverse guiding means 6 when raised and lowered in trench 3.

According to the present system, the hoses are reeled in and reeled out on to a pair of reels 15 and 16 which occupy a relatively small area as compared to the area which would be required to coil hoses on the ground. This results in a saving of space, and this area can effectively be utilized for other work.

The mud removing system or spoil discharging method according to the present invention is not only limited to the rotary cutter type excavator, but to be utilized for excavators provided with other types of cutters and for various other fields.

The synchronization mechanism means located between the traverse means 6 and the hose reel means 5 for smoothly laying hose on the reel drums will now be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4. Numerals 36 and 35 denote pulleys fixedly mounted on the rotary shafts of hose reels 16 and 15 along with swivel pipe joints l9 and 20, and have fastened thereto wires 47 and 48. Wires 47 and 48 pass over pulleys 35a and 3621 respectively, and are fastened to traverse guiding means 45 and 46. The pulley system is designed so that the traverse guiding means moves synchronously and in proper ratio with the rotation of reels 15 and 16. Thus, when the hose reels 15 and 16 are rotated to reel and unreel the hoses 17 and 18, the rotational motions of these reels are transmitted to the guiding means 45 and 46 through the wires 47 and 48. This causes upward and downward motion in proportion to the length of hose coiled or uncoiled and the speed of movement so as to guide the hoses on and off in a smooth and orderly manner.

Thus, even if the hoses l7 and 18 are as long, for example, as 40 meters, the operation of reeling in may automatically be carried out without any difficulty. Fur- Y ther, as shown in FIG. 2, the reels 15 and 16 are so constructed as to individually be driven by motors 49 (only one shown) mounted on the stage 25 through a gear box 50, a transmission shaft 51, and pinions 52, 53 in mesh with sprocket wheels 15a, 16a on reels 15, 16. Motor 49 may be any suitable means such as hydraulic or electric motors. The individual power supply and transmission mechanism enable each hose to be suitably tensioned and enable each reel to be operated under conditions which are considered most suitable, depending on the difference in load, variation of hose length and difference in reeling speed desired.

FIG. 5 shows a modification in which the spoil removing system is applied for the removal of mud, silt, sand and quicksand by means of a sand-pump.

In the drawing, numeral 54 denotes a sand-pump, 55 a boom of a crane which serves to move said sandpump to the required place where sand or quicksand 56 is present, and 57 a vertical reel mounted on a truck 58. The numeral 59 denotes a riser hose, the lower end of which is connected to the sand-pump 54, and which is coiled on the reel 57. The upper end of the riser hose pipe joint 60 is a hose 61, and a vacuum pump 62 for an air vent is connected to the hose.

The hose 61 is connected to the vibration sieve 24 of the muddy water treatment means 11, and the solid matter 13 separated here is carried away to the spot required by means of the carrier car 12. The muddy water slurry with solid matter 13 separated there from is returned to the zone where the sand-pump is in operation, through the discharging hose 64 from the pump 63. Numeral 68 denotes traverse means which spaces the hose on the reel.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment, in which the spoil removing system of the present invention is employed in using a suitable excavator. In the drawing, numeral 65 denotes any suitable type of excavator, 66 a scaffold as previously described for moving the excavator, and 67 an air compressor for lifting muddy slurry containing spoil by way of an air lift system. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 14, the rotary shaft of hose reel means 5 is vertical, while in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, which employs a force-type pumping, the rotary shaft of the said hose reel means 69 may be horizontal. Riser hose 70 is spirally reeled on the reel means 69. The lower end of hose 70 is connected inside the excavator 65. The hose is coiled on reel 69 and the other end is connected to a swivel pipe joint (not shown) which is similar to elements 19 and 20 in FIG. 4 mounted on the rotary shaft of the reel. Hose 71 connected to the swivel pipe joint is in turn connected by the mud or slurry treating means 11. In this case, the traverse means 72 is moved in a horizontal direction (vertical to paper surface) in proportion to the amount of the riser hose 70 drawn out. Other operations result in similar results to that of FIGS. 1-4 so that the explanation thereof will be omitted.

The hose reel means 69 may be provided with a plurality of spiral flights for guiding the hose so as to properly reel the hose on its reel drum. However, this is not as important in this embodiment as in the vertical shaft reel. Furthermore, the mud removing system according to the present invention, as is apparent from the foregoing description, may also apply to the so-called Reverse Process which constructs foundation piles for building work.

What is claimed:

1. A spoil removal system for underground excavation comprising at least one hose, said one hose serving to remove a mud slurry entraining spoils from a zone of excavation to ground surface, means for forcing mud slurry, from the zone of excavation through the hose, a hose reel mounted on a shaft for rotational motion therewith, means for rotating the reel, a swivel pipe joint connected to one end of the shaft, one end of said hose being connected to the shaft near the swivel joint, fluid passage means through the shaft whereby fluid can pass from the hose through the shaft and through the swivel joint, traverse guiding means responsive to the amount of hose reeled in or reeled out to lay the hose properly on the reel, excavated mud treating means for the removal of spoil material from the mud and for recirculating mud slurry to the excavating zone, and pipe or hose means connected at one end to said swivel joint and at its other end to said excavated mud treating means.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the reel has spiral flights having a pitch of about the diameter of the hose.

3. The system of claim 1 further including arcuate hose guiding means and wherein the hose is led over said arcuate hose guiding means in advance of the traverse guiding means to prevent excessive bending or kinking.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the reel shaft is vertical, wherein vacuum means is connected to the hose at a point near the swivel joint and in the rear thereof to remove entrapped air, and wherein the hose is rolled from the bottom of the reel to the top thereof.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said hose reel is adapted to reel and unreel said hose and further including a second hose through which mud slurry is recirculated to the excavating zone, and a second reel adapted for reeling and unreeling said second hose, each of said reels having individual power means and a transmission mechanism for driving each reel independently of the other.

6. In an excavating system having a zone of excavation wherein spoil is removed through a hose in a mud slurry, the improvement which comprises: a hose reel mounted on a shaft and rotatable therewith, a swivel pipe joint mounted on the shaft, traverse guiding means operating in synchronization with the rotation of the reel for coiling the hose in position on the reel, one end of said hose being connected to the shaft, fluid passage means through the shaft whereby fluid can pass through the shaft to the swivel pipe joint, a separator for separating slurry from spoil material, means connecting said swivel pipe joint to said separator and means for recirculating the separated slurry to the excavation .zone.

7. In an excavating system employing a rotary type excavator wherein the spoil material is removed in a mud slurry, the improvement which comprises: a sup porting scaffold mounted over an excavation, a vertical support post mounted on said scaffolding, means on said scaffolding for guiding said post in up-and-down movement, said rotary type excavator being connected to said post for movement therewith, hydraulic cylinder means connected to the post for applying vertical force thereto, first and second hoses connected at one end to the rotary type excavator, said hoses being separately mounted on a pair of reels located a suitable length from the excavator, said reels being mounted on vertically aligned shafts for rotating therewith, the other ends of said hoses being connected to their respective reel shafts, spiral flights on the reels, a swivel pipe joint mounted on each shaft, fluid passage means through each shaft whereby fluid can pass through the shaft to the swivel pipe joint, means for rotating said reels for reeling and unreeling the hoses thereon, traverse guiding means operating in synchronization with the rotation of the reels for coiling the hoses on the reels, a separator for separating spoil material from a mud slurry, a suction hose connecting one swivel pipe joint with the separator, a return hose connecting the other swivel pipe joint to the separator whereby spoil material is removed in a mud slurry at the excavation zone, passes through the first suction hose, and is separated in the separation zone, and recovered mud slurry is recirculated to the excavation zone via the return zone.

8. The excavation system of claim 7 wherein pumping means are attached in line with the suction hose and return hose for moving the slurry therein. 

1. A spoil removal system for underground excavation comprising at least one hose, said one hose serving to remove a mud slurry entraining spoils from a zone of excavation to ground surface, means for forcing mud slurry, from the zone of excavation through the hose, a hose reel mounted on a shaft for rotational motion therewith, means for rotating the reel, a swivel pipe joint connected to one end of the shaft, one end of said hose being connected to the shaft near the swivel joint, fluid passage means through the shaft whereby fluid can pass from the hose through the shaft and through the swivel joint, traverse guiding means responsive to the amount of hose reeled in or reeled out to lay the hose properly on the reel, excavated mud treating means for the removal of spoil material from the mud and for recirculating mud slurry to the excavating zone, and pipe or hose means connected at one end to said swivel joint and at its other end to said excavated mud treating means.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the reel has spiral flights having a pitch of about the diameter of the hose.
 3. The system of claim 1 further including arcuate hose guiding means and wherein the hose is led over said arcuate hose guiding means in advance of the traverse guiding means to prevent excessive bending or kinking.
 4. The system of claim 1 wherein the reel shaft is vertical, wherein vacuum means is connected to the hose at a point near the swivel joint and in the rear thereof to remove entrapped air, and wherein the hose is rolled from the bottom of the reel to the top thereof.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein said hose reel is adapted to reel and unreel said hose and further including a second hose through which mud slurry is recirculated to the excavating zone, and a second reel adapted for reeling and unreeling said second hose, each of said reels having individual power means and a transmission mechanism for driving each reel independently of the other.
 6. In an excavating system having a zone of excavation wherein spoil is removed through a hose in a mud slurry, the improvement which comprises: a hose reel mounted on a shaft and rotatable therewith, a swivel pipe joint mounted on the shaft, traverse guiding means operating in synchronization with the rotation of the reel for coiling the hose in position on the reel, one end of said hose being connected to the shaft, fluid passage means through the shaft whereby fluid can pass through the shaft to the swivel pipe joint, a separator for separating slurry from spoil material, means connecting said swivel pipe joint to said separator and means for recirculating the separated slurry to the excavation zone.
 7. In an excavating system employing a rotary type excavator wherein the spoil material is removed in a mud slurry, the improvement which comprises: a supporting scaffold mounted over an excavation, a vertical support post mounted on said scaffolding, means on said scaffolding for guiding said post in up-and-down movement, said rotary type excavator being connected to said post for movement therewith, hydraulic cylinder means connected to the post for applying vertical force thereto, first and second hoses connected at one end to the rotary type excavator, said hoses being separately mounted on a pair of reels located a suitable length from the excavator, said reels being mounted on vertically aligned shafts for rotating therewith, the other ends of said hoses being connected to their respective reel shafts, spiral flights on the reels, a swivel pipe joint mounted on each shaft, fluid passage means through each shaft whereby fluid can pass through the shaft to the swivel pipe joint, means for rotating said reels for reeling and unreeling the hoses thereon, traverse guiding means operating in synchronization with the rotation of the reels for coiling the hoses on the reels, a separator for separating spoil material from a mud slurry, a suction hose connecting one swivel pipe joint with the separator, a return hose connecting the other swivel pipe joint to the separator whereby spoil material is removed in a mud slurry at the excavation zone, passes through the first suction hose, and is separated in the separation zone, and recovered mud slurry is recirculated to the excavation zone via the return zone.
 8. The excavation system of claim 7 wherein pumping means are attached in line with the suction hose and return hose for moving the slurry therein. 